Communicating Equations via E-Mail

[RJ Emery]

In communicating with others via e-mail, it is quite difficult to render equations in ASCII text, particularly something like a complicated PDE. When the need arises to exchange involved equations with others, and to discuss those equations, what is a good way to accomplish that?

 

[cristo]

In communicating with others via e-mail, it is quite difficult to render equations in ASCII text, particularly something like a complicated PDE. When the need arises to exchange involved equations with others, and to discuss those equations, what is a good way to accomplish that?

This is quite an annoying problem. What I normally do is either attach a pdf with the equations on or, if it's a simple equation, just write in tex.

 

[RJ Emery]

This is quite an annoying problem. What I normally do is either attach a pdf with the equations on or, if it's a simple equation, just write in tex.

Yes, that is more or less the way I do it, too. However, it involves publishing, and that form makes it difficult for respondents to re-edit the work.

The way I send and reply to such e-mails is to draft my response by hand, then scan the handwritten pages and attach them as a PDF. I still seek a more elegant way.

 

[-Job-]

You could use Latex to compile the equation into an image and then insert it into the email.

 

[RJ Emery]

You could use Latex to compile the equation into an image and then insert it into the email.

I am aware of Teχ and LaTeχ but not have kept up with all the available implementations. While a web-based LaTeχ tool is intriguing, I still would rather have a WYSIWYG system resident on my own computer. The only WYSIWYG implementation I know of is Scientific Word from MacKichan Software, but that will not be on Linux until next year.

Are there other LaTeχ WYSIWYG implementations for Windows and/or Linux?

 

[bep]

You can also use a program like eqascii or https://sourceforge.net/projects/asciitex/" to render your equation in plain ASCII. Both programs are command line and use a LaTeX-like syntax. This way you can simply copy and paste plain ASCII formatted equations.

 

[RJ Emery]

Thanks for the update.